StarPoet Newsletter Vol. XII, No. XXII

Saturday, 28 May 2011 22:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 28 May 2011 21:57

The StarPoet Newsletter
Vol. XII, No. XXII (May 29, 2011 C.E.)

Memorial Day Rolling Thunder Weekend in Arlington Everyone hug a veteran

Birds Chirped
Gentle breezes blew
Neighbors focused on yard work
And the latest gossip
But the world did not end
Again

The earth must be
In big trouble
With any gods
Who still notice

Lisa Jain Thompson c. 2011 C.E.


In Flanders Fields In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army 3 May 1915 At Flanders Fields

the ghost who never was
Pale Rider
I have memories of Akron and Berlin And a thousand and more places I may have passed through Traveling the yellow brick road; A ghost in the night, A whisper in the wind, A fable to scare raw recruits, The response to the question Who was that woman And does she really exist? I have seen, I have spoken, I have killed when duty required And my country asked and then Slipped back into the darkness Until I was needed again, Forgotten and unrewarded By flag or president.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. -- General John A. Logan, Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. General Order No. 11

relative starpoet
The Eye of the Universe
I am an entity Localized in time and space, A four dimensional coordinate That answers to my name, I am, and not another, A singular continuum Of conscious synapse, Observing the universe As it moves around me.
Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

I pass its rolling hills each morning as we enter the Pentagon parking lot
Arlington
this one that one the war rolls on the one next door the one down the block the high school classmate my college roommate the one who made love to me the one who did not shule, shule, shulagra the drums rum tumming everywhere and it's one two one two three whoopee whoopee a thousand stones a thousand faces a thousand flags folded and waved a thousand hopes buried in their graves along the green fields of Arlington
— Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. - Irish headstone

those who serve
Contrail
Four parallel, white spreading contrails, High up heading south on patrol Against hazy blue skies. My overhead security and protection Standing watch over Washington Day by day by day. A squadron of F-15s or 16s Combining vigilance and training One fine spring morning above D. C.
Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did.	- Benjamin Harrison

philosophical tail wagging
Saturday Mid-Afternoon
The rose bushes are fertilized, Well sprayed for insects and black spot, The sun is bright, the temperature moderate, And the dog is watching t.v. at the door; He'll bark at the mailman, A quick shout to say hello And tell me the mail has arrived, Hardly ever more now than a magazine And a handful of local ads, Raising a question that begs an answer: Who will the dogs alert for When the postman comes no more?
Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

the way it goes
Post-Rapture Blues
Forty days and forty nights, There were times I thought The universe was trying me To see how much I would take; Now the Rapture has come and gone And Jesus hasn't spoken once, At least not to me; Back when I was young and receiving First Communion, heaven did not speak, The good earth did not move, Even at seven I am sure I would have noticed such things -- Jesus seems to be consistent In his immaculate absence..
-- Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave. - Mohammed

Life post 9-11
Common Operating Environment
We have trees of green, Red robins too, Emergency face masks And well packed carries, It's a very modern world after all. We have guards with guns, Automatics too, McDonald's hamburgers And Caramel Brulée, It's a very, very modern world..
Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

playing the odds
If Luck Holds
Temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, Still no sign of thunderstorms or tornadoes; In the world of natural disasters and angry gods, A steady gray drizzle seems to suffice, For now, for the moment, If our luck still holds and the river don't rise; If the earth allows us to survive, We might well just see another sunrise tomorrow.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. - Omar Bradley

the world outside
Spring Twice Viewed
1. Kids Voices of kids walking home from school, Yellow bus passing slowly by; Teenage boys chasing teenage girls Trying out untested roles: Laughter, squeals, parents out of sight, Moments of freedom unsupervised, Ice cream truck not far behind. 2. Tumble Tag Squirrels playing tumble tag Thirty feet up, limb to limb, Various mountings, flips and leaps, Trunk to branch, chattering loudly. Birdsong overhead filling tree tops, Proclaiming unsettled territorials As the squirrels carry on below, Poet on the patio, listening.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)

in the moment
The Morning Dishes Washing the morning dishes, Doing the weekly laundry, Working outside in the yard, Baseball on television and radio, I come unstuck from time, Switch to Lady GaGa Born This Way remixes, Sipping coca-cola, no sugar, no caffeine, And regroup in a poem of oddly little consequence To anyone save the poet herself. Sunday. Afternoon. The weekend before Memorial Day And the arrival of Rolling Thunder: My blood is full of sweaty possibility.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (May 2011)
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address


Copyright © Lisa Jain Thompson 1948-2011. Back issues are in the Newsletter Section of the StarPoet website. Visit my contact page and get in touch.